Method of making a fountain pen



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 H. T. GREEN METHOD OF MAKING A FOUNTAIN PEN April 19,1966 Original Filed Dec.

H. T. GREEN April 19, 1966 www Q% M Q@ INVENTOR.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hom er' Z' Gre en Original Filed Dec. '7,

April 19, 1966 H. T. GREEN METHOD OF MAKING A FOUNTAIN PEN 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. '7. 1960 INVENToR #tay/mer Z" GreenBY el ATTYS'.

H. T. GREEN METHOD OF MAKING A FOUNTAIN PEN April 19, 1966 MXN UNQ\ WSNu GN NNN QN Original Filed Deo.

nited States Patent 3,247,303 METHGD F MAKING A FOUNTAIN PEN Homer T.Green, Milton, Wis., assignor to The Parker Pen Company, `Ianesville,Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Original application Dec. 7, 1960, Ser.No. 74,304, now Patent No. 3,134,362, dated May 26, 1964. Divided andthis application Sept. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 307,834

4 Claims. (Cl. 264-249) The present invention relates to fountain pensand it more particularly relates to a new and improved fountain penconstruction suitable for use with either a refillable ink reservoir ora replaceable ink supply cartridge.

This application is a division of co-pending application Serial No.74,304, filed by Homer T. Green on December 7, 1960, now Patent No.3,134,362, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

Fountain pens have been known for a great many years and they have beendesigned and engineered to provide extremely satisfactory results.Nevertheless, it would be desirable to provide a fountain pen whichoperates at least as well if not better than any known prior art typesand which is particularly suited to present day mass productiontechniques thereby to enable the production of extremely high qualityfountain pens at an appreciably lower manufacturing cost than that forwhich prior art types of pens lof similar quality can be produced.

Moreover, it would be desirable to minimize the number of separate partsrequired in a fountain pen thereby to minimize the number of assemblyoperations required and at the same time to minimize the inventory ofparts which must be stocked not only by the manufacturer but by penrepair shops and the like. Also, it would be desirable to employ partswhich can be efficiently produced and which do not include dimensionswhich must be held within relatively close tolerances. In this way manyof the parts may be molded of a suitable plastic in a single operation.

Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved method of providing a capillary passageway between afeed bar and the associated nib.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved method of manufacturing a fountain pen and parts therefor.

Further objects and advantages and a better understanding of the presentinvention may be had by reference to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein;

FIGS. la and lb are longitudinal, sectional views of a fountain penembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a collector plug used inthe pen of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view of thecollector and feed mechanism of the fountain pen shown in FIGS. la andlb;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a feed bar embodying the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side, elevational View of the feed bar shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the feed bar shown in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 7, 8, 9, l0, 1l, l2 and 13 are cross-sectional views taken alongthe corresponding section lines in FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 14-14 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of a replaceable linkcartridge suitable for use in the pen of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a rellable inkcartridge adapted for use in the pen of FIG. l;

FIG. 17 is a partially sectioned view illustrative of the assemblyprocess used in manufacturing the ink reservoir shown in FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 18-13 in FIG. 17.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. la and 1bthereof, there is shown a complete fountain pen 20, the lower or forwardportion being shown in section in FIG. la and the upper or rearwardportion being shown in section in FIG. lb. As illustrated in FIGS. laand lb the pen 20 includes a refillable ink reservoir 21 of the pistonand cylinder type, but it should be understood that because of itsversatility the pen 20 may employ a replaceable throw-away type of inkreservoir or cartridge 22 shown in FIG. l5 and described more fullyhereinafter. Each of the reservoirs 21 and 22 has advantages which makeit particularly suited for certain applications, but less suitable forother applications. For example, the replaceable cartridge 22 makes itextremely easy to quickly replenish the ink supply of the pen by merelyreplacing the spent cartridge. On the other hand, the cost of the inkusedin the refillable reservoir 21 isA substantially less than the costof ink purchased in the separate cartridges 22. Since the pen 20 can beused with both types of reservoir it has the advantage of versatility tothe user while enabling the manufacturer of the pen to use the identicalparts and assembly lines for making two basically different types ofpens.

The pen comprises a collector shell 23 having an externally threadedrear end portion 24 which co-acts with an internally threaded forwardend portion 25 of a barrel member 26. Preferably the collector shell 23and the barrel 26 are formed of any of the many suitable plastics usedfor this purpose. A metallic collar 27 is press-fitted 4onto thecollector shell 23 to provide a stop against which the barrel 26 abutswhen the barrel parts 23 and 26 are connected together. The threadedconnection between the collector shell 23 and the barrel 26 enablesready disassembly of the two parts in order to refill the reservoir 21or to replace the cartridge type reservoir 22.

An important feature of the pen 20 of the present invention is the factthat it consists of relatively few component parts, thus minimizing theinventory both of the manufacturer and those who provide maintenance forthe pen. Moreover, the pen is easily disassembled thereby furtherfacilitating repair and maintenance of the pen.

As shown in FIGS. la and lb, the operating mechanism or ink feeding andwriting portion of the pen 20 comprises a nib collar 30, preferablymolded of a suitable plastic, which is threadedly mounted in the forwardend of the collector shell 23. The nib collar 30 includes an axial bore31 in which a feed bar 33 and a writing nib 34 are mounted. As will beunderstood more clearly as the present description proceeds, the nibcollar 30 provides the sole support for the feed bar 33 and the nib 34,thereby facilitating inspection, cleaning and replacement of the nib 34and feed bar 33.

A generally cylindrical collector plug 36, better shown in FIG. 2,loosely fits over the rearwardly extending portion of the feed bar 33and is held at a predetermined location within the collector shell 23 bymeans of a nipple 37 which is threadedly received within the bore of thecollector shell 23. The nipple 37 engages the rear end of the collectorplug 36 and forces a forwardly facing annular shoulder 38 thereonagainst a rearwardly facing annular shoulder 39 in the bore of thecollector shell 23. It is important that the shoulders 38 and 39 be inabutment, and for this reason it will be noted that the forward n 3 endof the collector 36 does not seat on any portion of the shell'23 but'isfree to move axially therein.

In addition to locating the collector 36 in the collector shell 23, thenipple 37 also functions to mount the reservoir 21 in the pen and tocouple the reservoir 21 to the feed bar 33. Consequently, the nipple 37includes a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending tubular portion41 having the rearward end 42 cutV on a bias to provide a sharp,knife-like end for severing a portion of the replaceable cartridgereservoir 22 as described hereinafter in connection with FIG. l5.

The reiillable reservoir 21 includes an ink supply or storage chamber 44dened by a hollow 'cyiinder 45 and a piston type plunger 46 which isaxially movable within the bore of the cylinder 45 to fill the chamber44. The cylinder 45 is slightly resilient and includes an open forwardend of reduced diameter forming a collar 48 which fits snugly over therearwardly extending portion of the tube 41 and partly into an annularrecess 47 in the nipple 37 to effect Aan hermetic seal between thenipple 37 and the reservoir 21. Ink owing out 'of lthe chamber 44 andreplacement air flowing into the chamber 44 thus respectively passesthrough the nipple 37 and through suitable passageways provided in thefeed mechanism to and from the front end of the pen.

In order to provide aV continuous supply of ink to the nib 34, Athe feedbar 33 extends vintoY the chamber 44 whereby it is immersed' in the inkin the chamber 44. The rear feed Vbar portion 50 is loosely received inthe bore of the nipple 37, and extendsto alocation in proximity to therearward end of the tube 41 so as to be bathed'V by the ink in thechamber 44. As best shown in'FIGS. 4 and 5 the rear portion 50 of thefeed bar 33 isv semi-cylindrical having a flat longitudinally extendingsurface 49prorvided with a capillary feed groove 51. As best shown' inFIG. V13,l the feed groove 571V has a generally V-shaped bottomproviding an innite capillary passageway along the feed groove 51.Because of the capillary attraction between the ink in the chamber 44and the infinite capillary atthe bottom of the feed groove 51` thegroove 59' remains at least partially filled with ink as long as asupply of ink is`contained within the chamber44. Y

One necessary characteristic of any commercially satisfactory presentday'fountain pen is that it be substantially immune to'leakage. Onefactor which may lead to leakage in'a fountain pen is rapid and suddenaxial movements o f the pen. When such'movement occurs the naturalinertia of the liquid in'thepen tends to move it towards the nib andsince the nib can only hold a small amount of ink, the ink thus moved tothe nib will flow out of the pen. In the past, Various' arrangements andstructures havebeen employed to prevent leakage under such conditions.VFor the most part such arrangements have been rather complex; Animportant feature of the p en embodying the present invention is thesimplicity of the mechanism employed for preventing such leakage. Thefeed groove 51, which is straight and which extends axially of the pensubstantially along the principal longitudinal axis thereof, terminatesabruptly at the location 51a (FIG. 4), and a pair Vof feed grooves 53and 54, which'also extend axially of the pen 20 and therefore lieparallel 'to the feed groove 51, feed the ink from the groove 51 to thenib 34. The grooves S3 andv 54 are entirely of capillary width and are,therefore, smaller in cross-sectional area than the groove 51.Accordingly, two such grooves are employed to Vinsure that a suicientlamount of ink is supplied to the nib 34.' The feed grooves 53 and 54,which, as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, l0 and ll, are each provided with aV-shaped bottom portion to provide an infinite capillary feed groovewhich insures a continuous flow of ink from the ink chamber 44 to thenib 34. The grooves 5,3 and 54 are displaced from but overlap with the`forward portion of thejfeed groove 51 an@ 211 three Of, these gram/9Sa?? Connected @gather by means of an annular weir chamber 56 ofcapillary dimension located between the bore 57 in the collector 36 andthe intermediate portion 59 of the feed bar 33. The feed passage is,therefore, discontinuous and ink is prevented from being shaken directlyfrom the feed groove 51 to the nib 34 by virtue of the fact that inorder for ink to travel from the groove 51 to the nib 34 it must firsttravel in a transverse direction through the annular chamber 56 andthere is ordinarilyno appreciable force component in the transversedirection to cause such movement.

In addition to connecting the feed grooves 53 and 54 with the feedgroove 51 in order to inhibit leakage of ink from the pen, the chamber56 also provides the sole Weir which `allows air to bubble through theink and into the chamber 44 to substantially equalize the chamberpressure with that of the atmosphere. The feed groove 51 has an enlargedupper end 6i) (FIG.V 12) at the location yof an enlargement 62. Theenlargement 62 locates the feed bar 33 in the collector plug 36 and thewidened portion 60 of the feed groove enablesV air to flow back into thechamber 44 without shutting off the supply of ink to the nib 34. In theabsence of a Weir, as the ink in the pen was used a vacuum would bebuilt up in the chamber 44 until the pressure differential between theatmosphere and that in the chamber became sufficiently great to preventthe further ow of ink out of the chamber 44. Accordingly, the nib wouldbe starved and the pen would appear to be dry even though a substantialamount of ink was contained within the chamber 44. In the same regard,air is supplied to the annular weiring chamber 56 for the aforementionedreason via an air feed channel 61, best shown in FIGS. 6, 9 and ll,provided in the bottom of the feed bar 36. Although the channel 61 opensinto the weir chamber S6, thechannel 61 is sufficiently largethat inkwill not flow into it and thus does not flow out ofthe pen through thechannel 61.

The slot 73 and the infinite capillary 82, hereinafter describednormally lhave'ink in them but the uidpressure is such that ink cannotbe drawn into the collector chamber 77 by capillary forces. A leakcondition occurs when the external, or atmospheric pressure is reducedwith respect to the air pressure in the reservoir 44. This in turnresults in a decrease in the fluid pressure at the intinte capillary 82which permits the opposing capillary force available in the collectorchamber 77 to draw ink from the reservoir. As ink is drawn from thereservoir 44, the pressure difference between that in the reservoir andexternal pressure is decreased. As this pressure differential decreasesthe pressure opposing the capillary forces of the collector chamber 77increases until equilibrium occurs and there is no further movement ofthe ink in the chamber 77.

The capillary force exerted by collector chamber 77 is ordinarily lessthan that of the weiring chamber 56. Consequently, upon drawing ink fromthe pen as in Writing, ink will be written out of the collector chamber77 before a bubble of air is able to enter through the weiring chamberS6.

In order to locate the feed bar 33 in the nib collar 30, a rearwardlyfacing shoulder 66 on the bottom p0rtion of the feed bar 33 abutsagainst the lower portion of an annular rabbet 67 in the nib collar 30.The upper surface of the forward portion of the feed bar 33, hereindesignated 65, conforms to the inner or lower surface of the writing nib34 to provide a large area capillary connection between the feed grooves53 and 54 and the writing nib 34 which insures a plentiful supply of inkfor the nib. The nib 34 is located in the collar 30 by means of itsrearwardly facing shoulder 68 which abuts against the upper part of theshoulder 67 when 'the nib and feed bar assembly is disposed in the nibcollar 30. As best shown in FIG. la, the nib 34 is offset to provide theshoulder 68 and a shoulder 69 which locates the nib 34 on the feed bar33. The nib 34 and the feed bar 33 are together press-fitted into thenib collar 30 to provide a tight llt between the nib 34 and the feed bar33 and thereby to hold the nib 34 in place in the pen 20.

As best show in FIG. 7 the lower portions of the feed grooves 53 and 54which underlie the nib 34 are not provided with an innite capillary atthe bottom as are the remaining portions of the grooves 53 and 54 sothat the ink which is fed to the nib 34 is pulled out of the feedgrooves 53 and 54 by the greater capillarity provided between the nib 34and the adjoining surface of the feed bar 33.

It is important that a large area capillary connection be providedbetween the feed grooves 53 and 54 and the nib 34 in order to maintain aplentiful supply of ink at the nib 34. Although a capillary passage ofSullicient area can be provided between the nib and the feed bar bymaintaining close tolerances on both the nib and feed bar dimensions,the cost of manufacturing the feed bar 33 can be greatly reduced if itis molded in its nal condition rather than first molded and latermachined. Therefore, in accordance with an important feature of thepresent invention the feed bar 33 is molded of plastic with aprotuberance 70 on the upper surface of the forward end thereof. Theheight of the protuberance 70 is such that when the nib 34 is placed onthe feed bar 33 and pressed into the collar 30, the nib 34 is stressedand deformed upwardly as shown in FIG. 5. By its very nature, the nib34, which is preferably made of gold, is resilient, this as well knownin the prior art, being a desirable if not a necessary attribute of awriting nib.

In order to cause the adjoining surface of the feed bar 33 to conform tothe surface of the nib 34, the end of the feed bar 33 with the nib andcollar assembled thereto is heated by suitable means as, for example, bydipping it in hot water to soften the end of the feed bar 33 which maybe, for example, formed of methyl methacrylate. When the protuberance 70softens, the pressure exerted thereon by the nib 34 forms theprotuberance 70 into the complementary of the bottom surface of the nib34. An extremely close fit is thus provided between the nib 3i) and theadjacent part of the feed bar 34 to insure a passageway of capillarydimension between the feed channels 53 and 54 and the nib 30.

A further advantage attained by the use of the protuberance 70 to stressthe nib 34 prior to the application of heat to the feed bar to softenthe protuberance 70 is that the dimensions of the nib and of the feedbar need not be held within extremely close tolerances. Nevertheless, anextremely close, high surface area fit between the nib and the feed baris achieved. Thus with this construction molding of the feed bar isfeasible. Furthermore, since the deformed protuberance 70 itselfprovides the contact area with the nib, this construction insures thatthe tines of the nib are in a closed position upon completion of themanufacturing process. In accordance with prior art methods and devicesof this nature, any irregularities in the portion of the feed barunderlying the nib resulted in an uncontrolled deformation of the niband one pen would write differently from the next. In many cases thisnib deformation would eventually reach an unstressed state due to coldflow of the material in the feed bar but even in those cases where thetines of the nib eventually become closed following a stress thereof byan irregularity on the feed bar, the contact area between the nib andthe feed bar would vary from pen to pen. By employing a protuberance onthe feed bar which is positively deformed under the direct influence ofthe nib itself there always results a precisely controlled tip Contactarea located at a precisely controlled position, thereby to provide aforward terminus for the ink feed grooves whereby the ink feeding to thenib ilows up from these grooves into and under the nib.

Another condition which commonly arises and which tends to cause ink toleak from a fountain pen is a relatively rapid drop in the atmosphericor ambient pressure. This causes the pressure in the ink chamber 44 toexceed the pressure outside the pen which thus tends to Iforce ink outof the chamber 44 until the internal and external pressures on the inkare equalized. In the prior art, it is known to provide an overflow Vorcollector cham-ber for temporarily storing the ink which is thus forcedout of the chamber 44. Ink is thus prevented from flowing directly outof the pen. In the pen 20 of the present invention, an overflow orcollector chamber is also provided for this same purpose. But thestructure which provides this chamber is simpler than that provided inthe prior art while operating both effectively and rapidly.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the collector plug 36 isprovided with a forwardly disposed flange 75, which centers the forwardend of the collector plug 36 within the shell 23, and a rearwardlydisposed flange 76 which provides the forwardly facing shoulder 38 foraccurately locating the plug 36 within the collector shell 23. Anannular area 79 of reduced external diameter is thus provided betweenthe flanges 75 and 76 and co-acts with the bore of the collector shell23 to provide an annular collector or overflow chamber 77 which becomesnarrower towards the rear of the pen. When an overflow condition occurs,the collector or overflow chamber 77 is fed with ink by means of acapillary slot 78 which is connectedto the weiring chamber 56. The slot78 has a width of capillary dimension so as to exert a force on the inktending to draw it out of the weiring chamber 56 into the slot 78. Thecollector chamber 77 is connected to the atmosphere by means of a slot80 which is disposed diametrically opposite to the slot 78 but which,unlike the slot 78, continues through the forward flange 75 and is thusconnected to the atmosphere by Way of the channel 61. While the slot 78is of capillary dimension having a width of approximately .005 inch, theslot 80 is much wider having a width of approximately .030 so that theslot 80 does not have capillary dimensions and therefore ink cannotnormally flow out of the pen from the collector reservoir 77 through theslot 80.

During normal operation of the pen when an overflow condition does notexist, the atmospheric pressure exerted on the ink in the weir 56 isequal to the sum of the opposite forces tending to drive the ink in theopposite direction. These latter forces are the force of capillaryattraction attempting to pull the ink into the slot 78, and the forceexerted on the ink by the pressure within the ink chamber 44 when thesetwo opposite forces are equal, the ink remains stationary in the pen,but when the atmospheric pressure becomes less than the sum of thechamber pressure and the capillary pressure, ink moves up into the slot78 and collector chamber 77 and out of the ink chamber 44 therebylowering the pressure within the chamber 44. This movement of `inkcontinues until the internal and external forces on the ink are againequalized. The slot 78 necessarily has a very small volurne and once ithas been filled, the ink which is being forced out of the chamber 44Hows into the substantially large collector chamber 77.

In order to insure that the ink from the filled slot 78 rapidlytransfers to the larger overflow chamber 77, there is provided aninfinite capillary 82 at the rear end of the overflow chamber 77 indirect contact with the slot 78. As shown, the infinite capillary 82 isdisposed at the'junction between the flange 76 and the shell 23.Inasrnuch as the abutting shoulders 38 and 39 on the collector plug 36and on the collector shell 23 provide the sole axial locating means forthe plug 36, a tight lit between the collector plug 36 and the collectorshell 23 at the desired location of the infinite capillary 82 isassured. Once an overflow condition has occurred and ink has flowed fromthe slot 78 into the chamber 77, the infinite capillary 82 causes asmall amount of ink to remain in the infinite capillary 82 even afterthe overflow condition has ended and all of the ink has effectivelyflowed from the chamber 77 and the slot 78 back into the Weir 56. Thecollector chamber 77 thus remains wetted at the point of juncture withthe slot 78 so that a rapid transfer of ink from the slot 7 8 to thelarge chamber 77 will occur when an overflow condition next exists.Without the infinite capillary Iconnection 82, this transition might besufficiently retarded that the pressure would equalize itself by causingink to flow past the slot 78 to the front of the'nib and hence leak fromthe pen. v l

As noted here-inbefore, the collector plug 36 has no required angularorientation within the collector shell 23 or with respect to the feedbar 33. To this end, and to minimize the tolerances which must bemaintained on the various dimensions of the plug 36, which isvpreferably molded of plastic, the forward end of the plug 36l isAprovided with a counter-bore 84 which communicates with the slot Sandwhich serves to insure the free passage of; air from the chanel 61 inthe feed bar 33 to the slot 80 irrespective of the relative angularpositions of the feed bar 33 and the collector 36,

Refer now to FIG. 16 for a more detailed description of the rellable inkreservoir 21. As described hereinbefore in connection with FIG. 1a, thereservoir -21 comprises a holl-ow cylinder 45 forming the ink chamber44.Preferably the cylinder 45 is formed of a transparent material so thatwhen the barrel 26 is removed from. the collector shell 23 the amount ofink in the chamber 44' may -be determined merely by looking at the levelof ink in the cylinder 45.v The rearwa-rd end of thecylinder l45. has -atapered counterbore 100 into which a tubular shell 101, also formed ofplastic, is inserted and secured thereto by suitable means such, forexample, as spin welding. A metallic band 102 surrounds the rear end ofthe cylinder 4 5 to facilitate handling of the reservoir 21 and rforimproving the'general appearance thereof. Y

The shell 1-01 has an internally extending annular flange 10241 at therearward .end thereof providing a forwardly facing shoulder 103- againstwhich a complementary. shoulder 1.04 on a rotary feed member 105 abuts.As best shown 4in FIG. 17, the feed member 105 is provided with a pairof longitudinally disposed slots 108 which provide relatively weak areaswhich permit temporary deformation of the member y105 during assembly ofthe reservoir 21 when the forward end of the feed member '5 is insertedinto the rearward end of the :feed sheel 101. As shown, the shoulder 104is the rearward termination of an -outwardly flared, annular` portion:109 which serves as a wedge to compress the member 1025 in the vicinityof the slots 108 as the feed member 10'5 is insertedeinto the shell1011. Once, however, the shoulder 104 passes'beyond the shoulder 103,the natural resiliency of the feed member 105 -causesrthe ared portion109 to spring outwardly thereby to permanently lock the member 10,5 in.place while permitting relative rotation between the feedrmember 1015andthe shell 101. As shown, the feed member 105 is provided with aninternal square thread 112 extending throughout the length thereof whichmates with an external thread 113 on -a rearwardlyrextending arm 114 ofthe piston 46. The arm 114is rectangular'in cross-section to minimizethe friction between the piston 46 and the feed member 105 therebyfacilitating the filling of the pen. It will be understood that inassembling the reservoir 21, the pistonA 46 is positioned within lthecylinder 45 Vprior to the assembly of the shelll 101 and the feed member105 to the cylinder 45.

As 'best shown in FIG. I8 b-oth the shell 101 and the feed member 105,which are rotatable with respect to vone another, vare provided withexternal utes or serrations 117 and 118 to provide inger grip portionsfor facilitating relative rotation between the two to move the piston 46back and forth wi-thin the chamber 44.

An important feature vof the reservoir 21 is that the fed member 105 isprovided with what may lbe. termed a left-handed thread so that as thefeed member 105 is rotated clockwise, relative to the shell 101, thepistonr46 Y normal tendency of persons is to rotate somethingin aclockwise direction, whether or not they known what the eectof suchrotation will abe. Accordingly, a person picking lup the pen 20 would inthe first instance have the urige to rotate the feed member 105clockwise which would, if the reservoir 44 were full of ink, Iand if arighth-and thread were used, squirt ink out of the front of the pen.However, hy u sing the left-hand thread, when the fed member 105 isVrotated clockwise, the piston 46 is retracted Without the undesirableeffect of squirt-ing ink.

As shown, the forward end of the piston 46 is provided with a resilientO ring i120' received in an annular recess to insure a tight seal acrossthe piston to prevent air from leaking past thepiston 45 into thechamber 44.

In ruse, the reservoir 21 may be iil'led by irnmersingy assembling itfrom the pen and then dipping the collar 48 into a supply of ink. Inboth cases, the feed memlber is rotated clockwise to withdraw the piston46 from. the forward end of the chamber 44 to the rearward end thereofthereby sucking ink up into the chamber 44.

As mentioned above the pen 20y is suitable for -use with the rellablereservoir 21 and it is also adapted for use with a replaceablethrow-away type in k cartridge 22 shown in FIG. 15. The throw-awaycartridge 22 comprises a generally tubular plastic member 122 having aclosed rearward end 123 and an open forward end 124 into` which a plug125, having la rabbet 126 is presst-ted. The plug is tted into the openend 124 after the tube 122 has been lled with ink. Thereafter, suitalblemeans such as heat sealing is used to permanently seal the plug 1125 tothe tube 122. As shown, the plug 125 is provided with a forwa-rd bore127 and a rearward bore 12S-separated by a thin wall 129 which is anintegralV p'art of the plug 125.

In use, the cartridge 22 is placed over the rearwardly extending tubularportion 41 of the nipple 37 with the tu'be 41 extending into the bore127. By pushing the two parts together, the sharp end 42 of the nipple37 partially severs the wall 129 from the plug 1125 and presses the wall129 intovthe dotted line position shown in FIG. l5 where it is out ofthe way of the bore in the nipple 37, and cannot interfere with the freeow of ink from the cartridge 22. Inasmueh as the plug 125 is slightlyresilient and the diameter -of the bore 127 is equal to or slightly lessthan the external diameter of the tube 41, an air-'tight seal islprovided between the nipple 37 and the plug 125. Consequently, inkcannot leak from the reservoir nor can air leak into the reservoir.Moreover, the resiliency of the collar 125 removably secures thecartridge 22 to the nipple 3-7.

While the present invention has been described in connection with aparticular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that those skilledin the art may make many changes and modifications without departingfrom the true spirit and scope of the invention and the appended claimsare intended to cover all such lchangers and modifications.

I claim:

1. A method of providing a capillary passageway between a supportingmember and a writing nib, cornprising forming said member with Ianenlargement at the loca-tion of the desired passageway, clamping saidnib in its normal position against said enlargement to deform said niband retain it in a stressed condition, thereafter softening saidenlargement to permit said nib to return toits normal unstressedcondition by deformationA of said enlargement into conformity with theadjoining surface of said nib, and then permitting said member tohardenwith said nib in place, whereby a large area capillary is providedbetween said nib and said member..

2. The method set forth in claim 1 wherein said enlargement is softened'by the application of heat thereto.

3. The method set forth in claim 2 wherein said heat is applied bydipping said member in a liquid of .a predetermined temperatureexceeding the flow point of the material of said member at the pressureexerted thereon by said nib.

4. A method of making a fountain pen comprising the steps of forming afeed bar with a protuberance in proximity to a capillary feed passage,fitting a resilient nib on said feed bar over said protuberance,pressing said nib and feed bar together by placing said nilb and saidfeed bar in a supporting portion of said pen, the location of saidpressure on said nib lbeing displaced from said protuberance wherebysaid nib is stressed by said protuberance `from it-s normal position,and thereafter render- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,471,952 10'/ 1923 Ford 29-428 2,3 80,763 7/1945 Juelss 1Z0-502,768,431 10/1956 Hughes 29-428 2,849,985 9/1958 Perry 1Z0-50 ROBERT F.WHITE, Primary Examiner.

JEROME SCHNALL, Examiner.

E. HOROWITZ, L. S. SQUTRES, Assistant Examiners.

1. A METHOD OF PROVIDING A CAPILLARY PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN A SUPPORTINGMEMBER AND A WRITING NIB, COMPRISING FORMING SAID MEMBER WITH ANENLARGEMENT AT THE LOCATION OF THE DESIRED PASSAGEWAY, CLAMPING SAID NIBIN ITS NORMAL POSITION AGAINST SAID ENLARGEMENT TO DEFORM SAID NIB ANDRETAIN IT IN A STRESSED CONDITION, THEREAFTER SOFTENING SAID ENLARGEMENTTO PERMIT SAID NIB TO RETURN TO ITS NORMAL UNSTRESSED CONDITION BYDEFORMATION OF SAID ENLARGEMENT INTO CONFORMITY WITH THE ADJOININGSURFACE OF SAID NIB, AND THEN PERMITTING SAID MEMBER TO HARDEN WITH SAIDNIB IN PLACE, WHEREBY A LARGE AREA CAPILLARY IS PROVIDED BETWEEN SAIDNIB AND SAID MEMBER.